In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful
If you have read my post about what not to say to a woman grieving a miscarriage, you know that I emphasize the fact that it’s not a womans fault in the case of miscarriage, pregnancy loss…and that extends to infertility. That said, I strongly believe that pregnancy loss and infertility are symptoms, generally stemming from some sort of inflammation.
I think that as women, we have more power over our fertility and feminine wellness than we have been led to believe. There are things that are not super invasive and that sometimes can heal our bodies and remove the obstacles that are blocking our way to a healthy baby.
Don’t get me wrong, I think things like IVF and other such fertility tools and treatments have their place…but for me, those things are a last resort. Ultimately going a holistic route, though it may take a bit longer than we would like, will not only help with your reproductive health but also will lead to your overall health and well-being.
Without further adieu, let’s get into these 7 tips that can help you take a more holistic approach if you’re struggling on your baby-making journey:
1. Learn how to properly chart your cycle.
I talked about this before but our menstrual cycle is a signal to us of our overall wellness. As we chart our cycle, we get to know what is normal for us…and we are able to see if it is within the range of healthiness. Each part of our cycle is important in our overall fertility. Our menstruation is only a part of our monthly cycle. There’s also the follicular phase, where estrogen kind of takes the lead. The luteal phase, wherein progesterone is key. When is your ovulation occurring in your cycle? Are you actually ovulating each month? How long is each phase of your cycle? If you are trying to achieve optimal fertility, becoming aware of your overall cycle is crucial.
2. Become familiar with fertility awareness.
This is very directly related to charting your cycle but slightly more direct. If you want to alter something, you’ll have to be aware of it first. There are a variety of methods available to get in tune with our fertility signals. Charting your cycle and getting in tune with what is “normal” for you is one way. Checking your basal body temperature or keeping record of your vaginal discharge are also options and might provide more information. You’ll have to decide which method you’d like to use and be consistent with it so that you’ll be able to benefit from this tool.
3. Get your hormone levels checked.
Stemming from getting in tune with our cycle and fertility signals, especially if you’re noticing that there are irregularities or somehow falling outside of a healthy range – you can take it a step further and get your hormones checked. Getting your thyroid checked is a part of this. But also, getting your progesterone levels checked can be key. But there are also the FSH and LH, among others that impact our fertility and overall wellness.
4. Get your vitamins and minerals checked..and adjust accordingly.
Unfortunately more often than not, we’re not getting proper nutrition from our diets these days, especially if we eat a more-or-less “standard American diet”. This means, we likely should be supplementing…with some important vitamins and minerals! Vitamin D, CoQ10, folate, magnesium, iodine are essential to our body and especially so for our fertility.. One thing to keep in mind here, if we are not making sure our body has what it needs, it’s going to be that much more difficult to achieve a healthy pregnancy – in which our body will also be responsible for sustaining a second life.
5. Add vaginal steaming into your monthly routine.
Vaginal steaming can be such a crucial tool for feminine wellness. It can be powerful in healing our cycle, our sexual wellness, our reproductive system and fertility. You can work with an herbalist and/or a vaginal steam practitioner to make sure that you are using the proper blend of herbs for your goals and your particular concerns. Working with someone also allows you to figure out when you should be steaming, how often and for how long.
6. Explore the option of Mayan Arvigo abdominal massage.
This form of bodywork is relatively new to me but it makes so much sense. I’ve been learning more and more about it following my last two miscarriages. This is a deep massage that focuses on repositioning our internal organs that may have shifted out of place. Often, through pregnancy, birth, and just life in general sometimes our uterus gets moved out of line a little bit. There are also different degrees of prolapse that sometimes occur in relation to our pelvic floor. There’s also c-section scar tissue that sometimes affects the placement of your various organs. Our body is capable of healing, by the permission of God, but ultimately if we want the best health available – we have to be proactive in making sure our body is in proper alignment and we are taking good care of it.
7. Consider working with a fertility coach.
A fertility coach is not a medical professional but rather is available to support you in most other ways. There are a wide variety of fertility coaches, depending on what your goals are, what your struggles might be and where you are in your journey. But overall, the goal of fertility coaching is to help you create the overall big picture of your fertility and then slowly but surely fill in all the beautiful colors and details to complete the picture. A fertility coach doesn’t guarantee your pregnancy but they will support you, make sure you know all your options and walk through your journey with you.
One thing I find beautiful about all 7 of these options for investing in your fertility is that beyond your journey to conception, a successful full-term pregnancy and ultimately a baby, through these things you are nourishing your entire body and more so, each of these can be useful for getting more in tune with your feminine self.
I also wanted to share with you all that starting very soon, I’ll be offering fertility coaching to women who have gone through pregnancy loss and are currently on their rainbow baby journey. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested in being a part of the pilot program or send me an email me.
Question for the comments: Which of these 7 ideas was new for you? Are you planning to try any of them?
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